LOTS and LOTS of SNOW!

Well, winter here in Central NY decided it needed to come back in full force! In a time-span of less than 12 hours(over the course of 2 days), it snowed at least 3 feet! It was snowing so hard a few times, we couldn't see the neighbor's homes across the street!!

That's my husband digging the driveway out this morning. He ended up not going into work until noon today because the porch roofs needed the snow removed before they collapsed. One of them was creaking a bit!!

Our picnic table totally buried.

The view across the street. The snowplow had already been through 2-3 times. You can see the sign there....and how high the snow bank is!

The city of Fulton declared a state of emergency today due to the DPW's garage roof collapsing early this morning on lots of equipment, but thankfully none of the snowplows were in the building at the time. Garbage pickup is cancelled this week too!

Angel, in her favorite place...wonder what she thinks of all that snow?? If I were her, I'd be thankful I was an indoor cat!

Amanda's Pantry Soup

Last week I was really craving homemade soup, so I decided to have a go at it and see what I could come up with! Instead of writing all the ingredients first, I will list them with the steps I took to make it.

1 pound ground beef, browned and crumbled, drain fat

Fill a large pot with about 3 quarts of water.
Add:
5-6 Beef Bullion cubes
1/2-1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

While this is coming to a boil:
peel and dice 3-4 small potatoes
peel and thinly slice 2 small carrots

Add to the boiling water and cook until they can be pierced with a fork.
DO NOT DRAIN!!

Once the vegetables are done, add a can of diced tomotoes (w/ basil & oregano), partially drained.
(or you can add all the liquid)

Add:
1/2-1 cup pearl barley
and 1-1 1/2 cups FINE egg noodles

Add extra water as necessary.
Let this cook and simmer for as long as you like.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Add grated Parmesan cheese as a topping.

You can always change what vegetables you use....carrots and potatoes are just what I had on hand.

Enjoy!!
I think I might make this again tonight!

Cara at Christmas....

Cara opened all the room sets before she opened the dollhouse! She had no idea what was in that big box!!

Ready to open the biggest gift!

Cara and her dollhouse...isn't it cute? She is one happy little girl!

A very cool gift...she worked on it that day.

Brendan at Christmas....

Brendan happy with his new Hot Wheels!

Very proud of the Gingerbread house he made at home.

Wow! A new Hot Wheels case...and it is full now!

A quiet moment after opening gifts at Grandma's house.

Can't resist a big box to climb into!!

Excited about a present...what a face!!

Yippee!!! More cool Hot Wheels!

Caitlin at Christmas....

Caitlin and her Great Aunt Linda opening a Pucci Pup. Aunt Linda is one of my Dad's sisters.

Caitlin opening one of her gifts at Grandma's house, Christmas afternoon.

Playing with Brendan's race track.

Just a funny face I caught....

Caitlin with a huge bow on her head....and a strange look on her face. Sean is in the background...and smiling! It was a good day.

I think Caitlin liked the box better than anything else.....doesn't that just figure!!??

Caitlin's 3rd Birthday!

Caitlin chose cupcakes instead of a cake for her birthday. I let her choose a color to make the cake part...she chose purple. And I had a leftover container of green icing with Christmas tree sprinkles. She was very happy with them!

All three of my children, together, and smiling!

Cara and Caitlin...sisters.

Brendan and Caitlin....it's nice to see them smiling together...they're the ones who are more than often nitpicking at each other!

Just one of Caitlin's gifts..a Little People boat with a pirate and octopus. She's always asking what toys she can take in the tub...she was happy to know that this one could get wet!

Happy Birthday Little One! We love you!

Birthday time...

The kids each received a new pair of pajamas from Sean's parents for their birthdays. They were all very excited! Their Great-Grandma also sent a gift for each of them...for Caitlin, a Hooked on Phonics Electronic Learning toy, to help her learn the alphabet. Brendan received a Shake n Go Nascar and Cara received the Sweet Family bathroom set for her dollhouse. Thank you grandparents!

Brendan's birthday is the 26th...he will be 7 years old!

Caitlin turned 3 this past January 12th...she's getting so big!

And Miss Cara...she will be 9 this Friday, the 25th. She's been having a few growth spurts...soon she'll be as tall as me....and I have a feeling she'll be taller than me when she's done growing!

This is Caitlin's Hooked on Phonics toy.

My sister's new puppy.....

Meet Claude, the newest member of my sister's home. Isn't he just too cute?? He is a purebred Yellow Lab. Jackie brought him over the day she went to pick him up...and oh, I fell in love!! So sweet....and still a little wobbly in the backend! ;) He was chasing Cara and Brendan around the house....lots of laughs! Enjoy the rest of the photos......